Content operations for scalability
This past year, one of the biggest changes we saw was how organizations defined "modernization." Instead of only focusing on platforms, more teams began prioritizing how content is created, governed, maintained, and evolved. Modernization went beyond migrations and redesigns to include strategy, workflow, and governance.
The goal shifted from "launching a new site" to building systems that can scale without burning teams out or accumulating unnecessary technical debt.
Governance became an operational necessity
In 2025, the organizations that struggled to make progress faced these consistent challenges:
- Decentralized websites that lacked cohesion
- Outdated or redundant content
- Inconsistent editorial practices and accessibility standards
On the flip side, the organizations that made progress were those that invested early in governance. They established clear governance models, planned the entire content cycle, and had clearly defined editorial roles and responsibilities. Governance has gone from being a background concern to a core operational capability.
The acceleration of design systems
More and more states adopted design systems across their agencies over the past year. And, for many states, design systems went from theory to measurable impact.
Teams saw real benefits from implementing design systems, such as:
- Visual and experiential consistency across sites
- Faster delivery through shared, reusable components
- Standardized accessibility built directly into templates and patterns
More editorial teams were empowered due to having clear standards and dependable components. Because of this, teams can publish and create content faster without sacrificing brand and accessibility consistency.
AI exploded, but adoption lagged
Everyone wanted to know about how AI could improve content management and creation, but what was discovered was that:
- Generative content at scale often struggles with accuracy, quality, and governance.
- The most meaningful gains came from applying AI to structured content and operational tasks, not free-form generation.
There were also some effective uses:
- Metadata generation
- Search relevance improvements
- Structured content validation
- Accessibility support and quality checks
Regardless of how AI was used, one thing that became clear was that AI works best when it's paired with strong content structure and well-defined processes.
Looking ahead
The trends that shaped 2025 point toward a year focused on consolidation, prevention, and scale.
Consolidation will accelerate
States and large organizations are under growing pressure to reduce fragmentation and technical debt. Cost constraints are increasing interest in unified, multi-site ecosystems.
In 2026, we expect to see more:
- Multi-site platform consolidation
- Statewide design-system adoption
- Shared governance and workflow models
- Decommissioning of legacy or unsupported CMS platforms
Accessibility will shift from remediation to prevention
More teams are moving away from "fix it later" approaches to accessibility and more toward building it into systems from the start.
Practices we expect to grow include:
- Accessible-by-default components and patterns
- Automated accessibility checks embedded into workflows
- Stronger central editorial and design standards
- More prevalent accessibility tooling
Editorial workflows will get smarter—not just faster
CMS ecosystems are evolving into full editorial and operational environments. This year, the focus will be on visibility and guidance, not just speed.
Anticipated capabilities include:
- Integrated review and approval workflows
- Embedded guidance within components
- Content scoring for readability, accessibility, and structure
- Governance and content-freshness dashboards
Teams want fewer bottlenecks, but they also want confidence and clarity.
AI will become practical instead of experimental
AI is moving out of the experimentation phase and into more structured, governed use.
Practical AI applications we expect to see in 2026 include:
- Generation of metadata and taxonomy
- Large-scale content audits and inventories
- Accessibility and compliance checks
- Internal knowledge search and discovery
- Controlled personalization
- Expanded chatbot interfaces
Without a strong content structure and a well-governed design system, AI can't work reliably.
Composable platforms, used with intention
Organizations will continue moving away from one-size-fits-all CMS solutions. Not because monolithic platforms are inherently bad, but because they're rarely the best answer for every job.
More teams are building modular ecosystems: a strong core CMS paired with deliberately selected tools to support specific needs, such as search, personalization, workflow, and asset management. When done well, this approach doesn't add complexity. Instead, it reduces it by allowing each tool to do what it does best and avoiding over-customization where it doesn't belong.
Composable platforms work when there's clarity about roles, responsibilities, and long-term ownership. Without that, even the best tools become hard to manage.
From stabilizing to scaling
While 2025 was more about stabilizing digital foundations, this year will be about putting those foundations to work. That means strengthening governance, improving workflows, and investing in platforms that can grow without constant rework. It also means approaching AI carefully and intentionally by using it to support existing systems.
A single CMS doesn't define the future of content management, nor does a single technology shift. It's shaped by how well people, processes, and platforms work together to support digital experiences that are accessible, sustainable, and built to last.